The surgery will be performed by an aorta-dissection specialist, Boozman said. Roughly 30 percent of patients who undergo aortic dissection surgery, as he did in 2014, eventually need a follow-up procedure, he said.

On the topic of healthcare, Boozman said he is looking at the system “totally different” in light of his situation.

The senator said his 2014 operation “illustrates the importance of community hospitals.” He stressed that if he had to travel to reach a hospital, he “probably wouldn’t have made it.”

Boozman said Congress should stabilize the nation’s healthcare system until a larger solution is reached.